Documentary about disabled student aims to change perceptions

A documentary created by four of our talented media students aims to help alter perceptions of disabled people.

The film Hidden Lives: Fighting Cerebral Palsy focuses on Liam Twizell, who is about to start the second year of his BSc (Hons) Crime and Investigation degree at Teesside. The documentary shows how Liam, who was born with cerebral palsy, lives life to the full through his studies and passion for karate.

Behind the film are final year BA (Hons) Media Production Professional Practice students Marc Lambert-Clarke, 23, of Catterick, Kriss Sowerby, 21, of Ferryhill, Mark Whitecross, 20, of Stockton and Craig Butterfield, 21, of Hartlepool.

Marc, who produced the film and is himself a wheelchair user, said: 'It is an issue close to my own heart as there are many misconceptions about what disabled people can achieve. Liam really enjoys his degree course and has achieved his brown belt in karate.

'People often judge others on what they can see, for example they see a wheelchair and automatically assume mental and physical disability. The film is about not judging people just from a visual perspective, as it aims to show that if you actually take the time to ask, you'll see disabled people are just people.' Liam, 19, of Billingham, said: 'People do have perceptions of disabled people, they might think you aren’t capable of doing certain things or that your brain doesn’t work just because you are disabled, but people need to see beyond the disability.

I'm not treated differently by peers on my degree course 'I wanted to do this film to help get rid of that stigma and help change perceptions. Being treated the same as everyone else is important to me. I’m not treated any differently by my peers on the degree course, which is the way it should be.'

Liam added: 'I’ve been doing karate for six years and people might assume it’s not a sport which a disabled person can do, but it is a great way to exercise and get rid of stress.'

Marc said of his degree course: 'It is very industry focused, with lecturers who have experience working in the industry. We also had some fantastic industry people coming to Teesside to talk about their work.'

Since completing his degree Marc has been filming a role a punk drummer in a movie about Ian Dury called Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. The film stars Andy Serkis (Gollum in Lord of the Rings) in the title role and also features Mackenzie Crook and Ray Winstone.

Kriss directed the documentary and said: 'It helps that the course is taught by people who have experience of working in the industry. They were able to keep us updated on developments in the media and are also well placed to hear of any vacancies to pass on to students.'

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